The Legend of Zelda: Gate of the Elements
by DarkMessenger
Summary: My first fic, getting awesome reveiws on the IGN Zelda boards. Takes place seven years after MM, Link and Zelda are about eighteen. Rated PG for some mild language, part one of three. Prologue and chaps 1-3 are up! R+R plz.
1. Prologue: The Door

1 The Legend of Zelda: Gate of the Elements  
  
2  
  
3  
  
4 Prologue: The Door  
  
It is seven years after Link's adventures in Termina….  
  
After stopping the giant moon and destroying the evil in Majora's Mask, Link continued on his journey to find his old and dear friend. He wandered forests, deserts, and mountains, but after 3 more years of searching, he began his journey back home to Kokiri Forest.  
  
Hyrule is now a prosperous, peaceful kingdom. The Evil King has been sealed away for fourteen years. But even though most enjoy this time of peace and prosperity, Link couldn't relax and enjoy it. Something told him that something was wrong. Some new threat was coming to Hyrule. And that darkness would flood over the land once more.  
  
As he slept, in his dreams he saw a huge wall of marble, and in the wall were ten slots evenly spaced around the door in a circle. Each slot had a marking next to it, but what they meant, he didn't know. As he watched, ten white, gleaming swords appeared. On the hilt of each sword was a symbol as well. The swords slid into the slots that their symbols matched, then one by one, they turned in the slots, like keys opening a huge lock. The huge marble slab split open and a white light spilled forth. Link strained to see what was in the light, strained his eyes against that brightness. But he couldn't see what was coming…  
  
Link fell out of bed. "What a weird dream. I wonder what it means. And that light…what was it. What was that huge stone with the slots?" He decided to go to the castle, and see what the Princess knew about it. Later that day he saddled up Epona and rode for the castle. Zelda would know, or if she didn't, he was sure it could be found in the castle library. But he couldn't get the last part of that dream out of his head. The light was bright, but then a shadow had fallen over it, and he thought he heard a man's laughter. "Could this be another gate to the Dark World? Could opening this gate free the Great King of Evil? Or is this threat even worse than that…" He rode on faster as Hyrule Castle came into view.  
  
Trying not to think of that laughter…  
  
Trying not to think of the shadow spilling over the pure light…  
  
And most of all, trying to forget that last figure he had seen as the dream faded.  
  
A figure slumped over in death in front of the door, bound as a human sacrifice to the power that lurked on the far side…  
  
Zelda… 


	2. Chapter One: The Dream Explained

1.1 Chapter One: The Dream Explained  
  
  
  
Link rode up at a full gallop to the castle. The guards knew him on sight, and allowed him to pass. Once he was inside, he was granted immediate access to the Royal Chambers, where Zelda waited for him.  
  
"What is it, Link? The guards said it looked serious, why the rush?"  
  
He told her his dream, but left off the end, where he had seen her dead. He didn't want to upset her if he could avoid it. "The last dream I had that was this vivid was when I foresaw Ganon chasing you from the castle when he first took over. I think that this may be serious, I thought you might know about it, of any legends that may explain it."  
  
"Hmmm…I can't say that I have heard of that legend, I don't know where to start looking in the Library. But maybe the Triforce of Wisdom knows…"  
  
"The Triforce of Wisdom? I thought that was embedded in your hand. Am I supposed to talk to your hand and get an answer?"  
  
"Don't be dense. After you left, I discovered that I could call the Triforce out of my hand. I had it placed in a vault within the Northern Towers of the castle. Nothing can get in or out without me lowering the seal. Since then, I found that I could ask it any question and it would tell me the answer, even if the Library could not."  
  
They headed up to the tower and Zelda unsealed the door, where they found the Triforce of Wisdom hovering over a pedestal in the middle of the room. Link repeated his dream, and they sat back to wait for an answer. The Triforce seemed to cogitate for an inordinate period of time then finally it 'spoke' into their minds, sending images of its story as it unfolded in their psyche.  
  
Long ago, before the Goddesses came upon the plane that would become Hyrule, a demon of immense power rule. It had the powers of all the elemental forces that existed in Hyrule, and all the other beings were forced to do its will. The demon's name is Dragonia, the Demon-goddess of Chaos .The demons contained two halves, one good, and one evil. If she were pure evil or pure good, then she would not have been a problem, but how does one deal with the embodiment of chaos? The Goddesses did not wish to punish the light of the demoness, but neither did they want the dark side rampaging on their creation. Therefore, the Goddesses created a separate dimension to contain it, as a compromise, and as the entrance they used a pure white marble slab, infused with the same mystic primal energy that the Goddesses themselves contained. Though they now had a containment for the demoness, they had no way to check the monster's powers long enough to contain it in this realm. Thus the first Sages appeared, warriors of the Light who combined their powers and those of the godesses in a massive battle and separated the demoness' powers, containing them inside ten swords: the Sword of Fire, the Sword of Wind, the Sword of Water, the Sword of Earth, the Sword of Forest, the Sword of Light, the Sword of Shadows, the Sword of Spirits, the Sword of Storms, and the Sword of Time. The monster was now weak enough to be trapped, but as she entered the door, an unforeseen and unwanted effect of the demoness' power affected it. As the Door was closing, the demon unleashed a massive wave of dark energy, spending its strength almost entirely. This energy forged ten slots into it the stone around the door, and the ten runes of the demon's powers were infused permanently into the stone. Should one insert the swords into the appropriate slots, the runes would return her powers to her, and allow her to break her bonds. Her power spent, the demoness slept behind the door, waiting for one to come and release her. If an evil person frees the demoness, then the dark half shall fuse with their soul, and the light half shall be lost forever. They shall have infinite power, with no one able to stop them, not even the Goddesses themselves. If one of pure heart draws the sword, the light half shall find refuge in his heart, the evil shall be lost, and a golden age like no other shall come upon Hyrule. The pure one shall rule with justice, and no evil shall befall the land as long as they live. To ensure that the dark demon was never released, the Sages hid the ten swords in the furthest corners of the land, protecting them with numerous traps, dangers, and snares. Thus was the hope that the demoness shall be locked away, forever, until the end of time.  
  
Link came out of his trance. "But someone must be looking for the swords now, otherwise I wouldn't have had that dream. We need to find that door, maybe there will be some clue there that will help us find the swords first."  
  
"I wonder…" Zelda said, "There are deep caverns under the Temple of Time. I remember when I was very young hearing that something was sealed within them, something incredibly ancient. I wonder if the door could be down there."  
  
They exchanged a look. "I guess we better go find out, then shouldn't we?" Link asked.  
  
As they walked into the Temple, Link was taken back to the first time he had encountered it. The adventures he had with the Master Sword and Navi by his side. But thinking of the sword reminded him of his huge mistake he had made in letting Ganon into the Sacred Realm. One lapse in caution and it cost Hyrule seven years of torment. He would never allow that to happen again as long as there was a breath in his body. He had to find those swords and destroy them if he could. He couldn't let Hyrule suffer another one of his mistakes again.  
  
"Link!"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"About time, I've been trying to get your attention for the last five minutes. Over here!"  
  
Zelda stood by the Light Medallion platform in the center of the room.  
  
"Help me push."  
  
Together they heaved the huge platform aside, underneath was a flight of stairs. Link ignited a torch and took it with them as they traveled down, down, down into what seemed like the bowels of hell. They traveled for over an hour before Zelda came to a halt.  
  
"There it is. Is that what you saw from your dream?"  
  
Link was speechless. In front of him was the door, pristine unsullied by dirt or scratch, despite the countless millennia since it's creation. And around it were the slots and runes, exactly as he had seen them from his dream.  
  
"Yeah," he managed to respond, walking closer to it. He saw something else in front, something missing from his vision.  
  
"Zelda, look at this!"  
  
In front of the door was a pedestal, exactly like the Pedestal of Time that the Master Sword was embedded in.  
  
"What do you think it means, Zelda?"  
  
"Maybe the Master Sword is the final key to this gate as well…and if that's true, then the sword must have existed far longer than we ever dreamed. It could have been forged from the demon itself. If the Master Sword is the final key, then it would make sense that the door was buried beneath the Temple of Time. Link, we need to go retrieve it right away."  
  
But Link wasn't listening. He had wandered over to the side of the door, something had caught his eye. As he got closer to the door, he felt colder and colder, and as he touched it, his hand almost froze to the surface. He pulled away just in time and looked down at the thing he had seen. It was a small cube, but made out of a material he had never seen before. It was at once gold, then silver, and the tighter he held onto it, the more it seemed to move. He brought it back over to the light from the torch, taking a secret relief in the warmth it shed.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"I don't know, but it may be important. Let's get out of here and get the Master Sword."  
  
He tucked it away as they walked back up the long, long flight of stairs. 


	3. Chapter Two: Shadows of the Past…And Vis...

Chapter Two: Shadows of the Past…And Visions of The Future  
  
Arriving back in the main Temple, they pushed the slab back in place and walked up to the Door of Time. They strode up to the altar and knelt. The Spiritual Stones which Zelda had brought fell back into place in the alter and spun silently. Link felt memories come back to him as he watched…the Kokiri Emerald, the Spiritual Stone of Forest, the embodiment of Life and living things that was given to him by the dying Deku Tree. The Goron's Ruby, the Stone of Fire, of passion, of all things that inflamed the heart. He had received it from his sworn Brother, Darunia, now the Sage of Fire, as a reward for venturing into the Dodongo's Cavern, braving the fiery lava, and defeating the monstrous King Dodongo. And the Zora's Sapphire, the Stone of Water, the stone of peace and tranquility. He remembered going in after Princess Ruto, into the huge fish, Lord Jabu-Jabu. He recalled fighting Barinade, who hit him over and over with massive bolts of electricity, but his simple boomerang, immune to the lightning's effects won out. And he remembered, with a blush, of Ruto proposing to him and giving him the Stone.  
  
As he took out the Ocarina of Time he remembered all he had been through with it. He remembered the first time he had ever seen it, after he had returned to the Castle and found the town under siege, Zelda fleeing and entrusting the Ocarina to him. And he remembered…Ganondorf. He remembered the ball of energy that had knocked him flat. He still bore the scar of the dark magic that had touched him, it had never fully healed. He remembered finally opening the Door of Time for the first time, only to be sealed away, letting Ganondorf to sneak into the Golden Realm and tainting it with his dark magicks. It was entirely his fault, no matter what Zelda thought, that Hyrule had suffered during the Seven Dark Years. He should have been more vigilant, more wary. He should have known Ganon wouldn't have left so easily. And now, with this new evil approaching, he wouldn't let Hyrule suffer for another one of his mistakes!  
  
As he stood up, caressing the Ocarina, he put it to his lips and played the Song of Time, that old, familiar tune that had served him so well. It allowed him to travel back in time in Termina to save that dimension, allowed him to summon and dismiss Time Blocks to achieve his goals, even, as now, allowed him to open the sacred Door of Time. And as the Door of Time opened, the last strains of the tune fading, he saw it. The Master Sword. His sword, waiting patiently in the pedestal where he had returned it after beating Ganon, when it's work for him was finished. He had sealed it back behind the Door of Time, allowing it to rest where it belonged. Zelda stood back by the Doorway, sensing the solemnity of this moment.  
  
As slowly and cautiously as a child first learning how to walk, he strode up the stairs one at a time; as he neared it, the sword began to glow, sensing its master had returned for it. As he placed his hands on it, he felt the old battles return to him. Phantom Ganon, that evil trickster ghost. Volvagia, revived from the grave to turn Hyrule into a burning wasteland. Morpha, the monster that froze Zora's Domain. Twinrova, masters of blizzards and lava; Bongo Bongo, the legendary Shadow demon; and finally the evil king himself, Ganon…But still, after all it had been through, the blade was still clean, unsullied by mark or burn. As pure as the day he had first drawn it from the Pedestal. He stood there for a long, long time, reminiscing, then finally, he drew it back out. As he held it aloft, the sunlight streaming in from the window glowed pure white, the images of the Medallions surrounding the Pedistal lit up in their respective colors, and the Triforce shown dazzlingly around him.  
  
Later that night, Link took the cube back out of his pack and looked at it. Now that he could see it in better lighting, he noticed little marks all around it. On top was a Triforce, the closer he brought it to his left hand, the brighter the Triforce on his wrist and the cube glowed. When he touched the cube on the back of his hand, a brilliant flash of light exploded from it. As he watched, it melted from a plain cube into a ten- sided decagon. On each side of the decagon, a rune was displayed, the same runes that were around the gate. The decagon floated above his palm, and one by one, the runes flashed. As each one lit up, the decagon spun in a new direction. "This must be a compass of some sort, or a key, showing in which directions the swords are hidden." He tapped one of the runes and it projected an image into his mind. "Mountains…this one is in the mountains…in a peak with a skull's face on it…"He tapped another one. "In the desert…in a place marked by three huge, white bones…" He tapped the one next to it. "An island …near the land of Calatia, in a cave with a blood- red Triforce." He tapped through all of them, getting a feel for how it worked. After he had gone through all of them, one rune flashed on permanently, orienting itself to its goal. It had a brilliant red shine to it, and looked vaguely like an ancestor of the Fire Medallion. "This is the one that showed the mountains…I guess it's telling me that's where I have to go first. So, that's where I'll go," he yawned, as he rolled over.  
  
"My journey begins at sunrise," he thought as he fell asleep.  
  
Little did he know that this would prove to be the most harrowing adventure of his entire life. 


	4. Chapter Three: The Journey Begins

Chapter Three: The Journey Begins  
  
The crowing of a Cucco awoke Link early in the morning. He got up, relaxed in the castle hot baths for a bit, then proceeded to get ready to leave. After getting dressed he gathered the supplies he felt he would need and placed them in his pouch. Bottled fairies, blue potions, green potions… the magic crystals, his bow and arrows, his bombs, his longshot, the Megaton Hammer…Each item shrank to fit inside the magic pouch. Prepared, he left a note for Zelda, and went to saddle up Epona. She neighed softly as he entered the stable, a trifle annoyed at being awakened this early. "Sorry, girl, but we have to get an early start," he muttered. As he got her ready to ride, he heard a footstep behind him, a very soft, gentle one. He paused for a minute, then turned, and drew his sword and shield in one motion, as only a battle-trained warrior can do. He prepared himself as he spun, ready to leap into mortal combat with…  
  
"Zelda!"  
  
"You greet all your friends this way?"  
  
"My friends know better than to sneak up on me. What are you doing here?"  
  
"What do you think, hero boy? I'm here to help you." She pointed at her mare, Storm, already saddled up and ready to go. "You're late."  
  
"No way, Zelda. No. Absolutely not."  
  
Her eyes flashed in a way he had come to associate with trouble. "No? You think you can give orders to *me*? Don't treat me like I'm helpless, Link, I took care of myself for the seven years you were locked in the Dark Realm. I was the one who guided you throughout your journey, every step of the way. If it weren't for me, you would have never gotten close to Ganon. And you think you can stop me now? I don't think so!"  
  
Taken back by her fire, Link didn't know how to respond. He had seen her like this very few times, and it was always dangerous. But still his dream…his vision floated back into his mind. The picture of her dead…sacrificed to the demoness. But what could he do? If he stopped her, there would be no telling how long she would be pissed at him. And he didn't want to die and have Zelda blame herself for giving in to him.  
  
"Fine…" he sighed. At least this way he could keep an eye on her. They mounted their steeds and rode out of the castle grounds and into the glimmering sunrise. "Hey, how did you know when I was leaving? I didn't tell anyone…"  
  
"Well, I was coming to…um…see how you were doing, and I heard you talking to yourself through the door just before you fell asleep. So, where are we going?" Zelda asked, pulling alongside him.  
  
"I want to make a quick stop over at Kakariko, then we head to the mountains," he answered, looking at her. Strange, he had never seen her blush before…maybe it was just the chill wind in her face. Yeah, that was it.  
  
They soon rode into Kakariko Village. Pulling up to a strange, run-down looking house, they hitched their horses to a nearby tree and went inside.  
  
"Link! It's good to see you," exclaimed the master of the Skulltula House. "It's been years! Where have you been?"  
  
"Same ol', same ol'," Link replied with a smile. "Listen, I have that sword you told me about. I have no use for it anymore, so you can have it." He pulled from his pouch the Gilded Sword he had gotten in Termina. It quickly grew to full size as he handed it over.  
  
"Ah…the famous Gilded Sword from the Mountain Smithies! Thanks, Link! I have looked for this sword for years and haven't found one." The man turned to one of the walls of the room where several other swords were hanging. He placed it in the center rack. "There, that's the perfect place for it. Now my collection is complete!"  
  
"I would have brought it sooner, but I still needed it in my journeys. I kept it in the best shape for you though, and now that I have my Master Sword again, you can have it."  
  
"Here, let me give you something for your trouble. Hold out your wallet."  
  
As Link did so, the man filled it to bulging with Rupees. "There you are, I hope that helps you in whatever quest you find yourself on next."  
  
"I'm sure it will. Thank you, sir," he bowed.  
  
"No problem. Thank *you* Link."  
  
Moments later, they were back on their horses and riding away. "That place gave me the creeps," Zelda said.  
  
Link looked stonily at her. "You can't judge a book by its cover, Zelda. Those people were very generous and hospitable to me in my quest to stop Ganondorf. I saved them from a curse; and they gave me many rewards, not the least of which is the money. Giving him that sword was my way of repaying him for his help in a small way, and it gave us some funds for our trip."  
  
"If money was the problem, Link, why didn't you ask? I would have gotten some from the treasury."  
  
"It isn't a problem, Zelda. I wanted to go there to give him the sword. I didn't go there expecting money, but to turn it down would not be polite. Sometimes, you have to accept an extravagant gift, or risk offending the giver. I wanted to give him that sword before we left because I don't know how long we'll be gone. I can make my own money out here, fighting monsters and such."  
  
"I understand. So aren't we going up Death Mountain?"  
  
Link brought out the compass to check. The red rune was still glowing, as it hovered over his palm, it immediately swung away from the range north of Kakariko, a red triangle emanating from it to point further west. "No. The compass says we should head out to Gerudo."  
  
"Compass?"  
  
"Yeah, remember that cube I found? Well when I touched it to my Triforce, it melted into this. It seems to be a compass or guide of some sort, telling me where the Swords are."  
  
"I see. Well, west we go then."  
  
As they traveled, Link kept the compass out. It gradually started to swing north, the closer they got to Gerudo Valley. "Looks like it's in the Acardian mountain range, huh?" he called.  
  
"That's crazy! Those are the most treacherous mountains in Hyrule! They make Death Mountain look like a foothill!  
  
"Where better to hide something you don't want found?"  
  
Finding a small villa at the mountain base, they boarded them their horses in the stables, paying the owner a deposit to keep them safe until they returned. After hearing who they were, the owner was more than happy to oblige. They also bought climbing gear and soon were on their way.  
  
Hours later, they were hugging a cliff face as they edged around a ledge that seemed no wider than their boots were. "Careful, Princess," Link called above the wind, "Its particularly tricky over here…" They edged their way around the face, hanging on by no more than the friction of their fingerprints. As they overcame the dangerous path and stepped onto more solid ground, Link was about to breathe a sigh of relief when he saw a huge Dodongo waiting for them. "Uh, oh," Link muttered quietly. He signaled Zelda to get back, and went out to fight it.  
  
The Dodongo heard him coming, and whirled around, preparing to blast a wave of fire at Link. But the nimble Hylian was too fast. He darted around the beast's upraised torso and stabbed down on it's vulnerable tail. The monster roared with surprise and pain, and spun around again, trying to embroil its attacker. But Link was simply too quick for the lumbering monster, as again and again, he slashed at it's tail. After a short skirmish, the monster succumbed and fell flat on the ground. Link turned to face Zelda. "Nothing to it!" he laughed. As he looked to see what the monster would drop, he saw it begin to flash. "Uh, oh," he groaned, remembering how Dodongos died. He spun about desperately, trying to get away…  
  
Too late. The Dodongo exploded. The force of the blast knocked Link over the cliff and he plummeted through the abyss toward the hard, unforgiving earth below. 


End file.
